Google’s Driverless Cars

Technology | 7-14 yrs

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Children are always in a hurry to turn eighteen so that they are able to get a driving license and try their hands on their parents’ cars. Sitting behind the steering wheel of the car is the dream of every young boy and girl.

Now just imagine that by the time you turn eighteen, there would be no need of a license. There will be driverless cars available to drive you around and all those driving tests and licenses will become a thing of the past.

Yes, it is possible! Computer controlled cars or autonomous cars that will be able to drive themselves are just around the corner.

17 Amazing Facts about Self-driving Cars from Google

In the United States of America, states like California, Nevada and Florida have made self-driving cars legal. We are hopeful that India will also join this list in the future.

Scientists have finally succeeded in turning today’s science fiction into tomorrow’s reality. Google, the famous computer software and a web search engine company, is spearheading the development of these autonomous vehicles. The whole aim of developing driverless cars is to make driving safer, more enjoyable and more efficient.

Google’s first model car has completed more than 300,000 miles of computer-led driving and gathered great reviews from a vast number of enthusiastic supporters.

In 2012, Google also tried to explore the utility of these cars for invalid persons by taking a blind person for a ride.

The experiment revealed clear benefits of such technology by driving the man to complete his daily chores, right from going to the chemist to collecting packed lunch from the restaurant.

The drive took place on a meticulously programmed route with specific maneuvering directions.

Many car companies and research organizations like Nissan, Toyota, Audi and universities like Oxford and Stanford have developed their own versions of automated vehicles.

But hold on to your horses! Before you run to your parents and start pestering them to find out from where you can buy these cars, please know that you won’t be seeing these cars anytime soon on the road.

They are still under probation! They are being tested, mainly to make sure that they’re safe. What if the car suddenly malfunctions in the middle of a busy street or you have a flat tyre?

So, engineers are trying to work out all sorts of possible problems. Once safety of the technology is proven, and the costs are brought down these cars will hit the market fast. The advent of these driverless cars will certainly redefine travel.

Many people find driving enjoyable and exciting, but it can seem like a terrible chore at times when they have to make their way through a congested Indian street on a busy day.

In many places, the traffic is rowdy and the drivers do not obey the traffic rules, and this leads to accidents. The high-tech driverless cars would take out the chances of any human error on the roads and save lives.

The sophisticated computers that would be running these cars would make the right decisions and right maneuvers. These cars would be able to manipulate their way through tricky traffic situations without ever getting tired or distracted.

You will be able to read a book or update your blog on the net while driving in your super smart car.

The problem of traffic jams would also be solved as the car’s sensors, radars, cameras and global positioning system (GPS) will help navigate the road and take alternate routes on coming across a busy road.

You would not have to spend time looking for parking spaces or give money to the valets.

The car will drop you off and pick you back again, as per your directions! But the important question here is: are we really ready to give up the control of the car and trust our lives to a computer? Are we or are we not?